Liquid feed control for cleaning apparatus

ABSTRACT

A LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR LIQUID SHAMPOO APPARATUS WHEREIN THE LIQUID SHAMPOO IS FED TO THE CLEANING MEMBERS FROM A LIQUID SHAMPOO CONTAINER WHOSE OUTLET IS FORMED AS A WEIR SITUATED ABOVE THE NORMAL LEVEL OF LIQUID IN THE CONTAINER SO THAT DURING SHAMPOOING OPERATIONS THE INERTIA OF THE LIQUID CAUSES FLOW OF LIQUID OVER THE WEIR ONTO THE CLEANING MEMBERS.

June 6, 1972 D. N. SMYTH 3,667,853

LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 6, 1972 s -r 3,667,853

LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet? Q2714 t lLz v 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 D. N. SMYTH LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1968 June 6, 197

June 6,1972 D. N. SMYTH 3,667,853

LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 /NVE/V 7 0E DONALD N. SAD 7H June 6, 1972 D. N. SMYTH 3,567,853

LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 13, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 3,667,853 LIQUID FEED CONTROL FOR CLEANING APPARATUS Donald N. Smyth, South Plympton, South Australia, Australia, assignor to S.A. Brush Company, Limited, Albert Park, South Australia, Australia Original application Aug. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 752,284, new Patent No. 3,583,818, dated June 8, 1971. Divided and this application Oct. 28, 1970, Ser. No. 84,638 Claims priority, application Australia, Aug. 25, 1967, 26,399/ 67 Int. Cl. A46b 11/04 U.S. Cl. 401-291 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A liquid feed control for liquid shampoo apparatus wherein the liquid shampoo is fed to the cleaning members from a liquid shampoo container whose outlet is formed as a weir situated above the normal level of liquid in the container so that during shampooing operations the inertia of the liquid causes flow of liquid over the weir onto the cleaning members.

This application is a divisional application of co-pending Ser. No. 752,284 filed Aug. 13, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,583,818.

This invention relates to a liquid feed control for cleaning apparatus and in particular it relates to apparatus of the type which is moved over a surface with a general to and fro motion such for instance as carpet shampoo devices, window cleaners or any apparatus where it is required to supply only limited quantities of liquid in proportion to the use of the apparatus.

It is of course well known to use drip feeds and the like for this type of apparatus and to have the feed under control of an operator and often when shampooing carpets, comparatively large amounts of cleaning fluid or shampoo are flowed by means of the rollers onto the carpet. This fluid thoroughly wets the carpet pile and tends to carry down dirt and grime to the base of the carpet fibers where they remain. Length of drying time required before the carpet should be used again for traffic varies greatly according to ambient temperatures and humidity, it is not unusual for this drying period to be upwards of two to three days.

It is, therefore, desirable to carry out the shampooing operation by means of a suitable brushing, sponging, scrubbing action, so that aided by the cleansing effect of a suitable shampoo fluid, all dirt and grim will be loosened from the carpet pile. Further, the flow of shampoo fiuid should be effectively controlled so that no more than is required for efiicient cleaning of the pile is allowed to be deposited.

The object of this invention therefore is to provide a new and improved liquid feed control device which will firstly provide a simple and effective means for applying the cleaning liquid to the surface to be cleaned in quantities consistent with the cleaning required, a further object being to provide a means for holding the cleaning liquid which will prevent undue frothing yet will feed required amounts to reservoirs which will discharge the liquid to the cleaning mechanism in the required amount, a yet further object being to provide simple and effective cutoff means for control of this liquid feed.

In one form the invention comprises an improved cleaning liquid feed device particularly for feeding cleaning liquid to the cleaning members of a surface cleaning apparatus, characterized by a container adapted to contain a quantity of cleaning liquid and feed means whereby a regu- United States Patent lated supply of the cleaning liquid is fed by movement of the cleaning liquid in the container due to abrupt velocity changes in the motion of the apparatus during a cleaning operation.

According to a preferred form the invention comprises a series of cleaning members, the members being fed with cleaning liquid, preferably under control to a fore and aft movement of the apparatus, from perforated reservoirs discharging onto the cleaning member, and these reservoirs in turn are fed from a container, preferbaly a resilient bag which contains the cleaning liquid and is provided with pressure means whereby flow from the bag to the reservoirs can be controlled or terminated. The brushes and sponges which form the cleaning members may be of any form and disposition in the cleaning apparatus but one form of apparatus in which the invention may be embodied and which is particularly effective in cleaning or shampooing carpets is hereinafter described, which cleaning apparatus is the subject of co-pending application Ser. No. 752,284.

In order however that the invention will be more fully understood, embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are to be taken by way of illustration only and not as limiting the scope of the invention, the scope being defined in the claims herein.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carpet shampoo apparatus, being one form of cleaning apparatus in which the liquid feed device is incorporated,

P16. 2 is an enlarged underside view of same showing the shampooing members,

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the invention showing beneath the body one set of shampoo members as separated from the body and showing above the body firstly the liquid storage and dispensing portion of the apparatus and above same the cover which completes the assembly,

FIG. 4 is a transverse section of the invention showing particularly the cut-off mechanism which prevents fiow from the storage reservoir to the nozzles when fiow is not required,

FIG. 5 is a view of the storage reservoir and nozzles, the view being a cross-section,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one of the shampooing members with one side in its assembled position, but with the other side having the brushes and sponges, which form the member, in their unassembled position,

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the support for the brush assembly, and

FIG. 8 is a plan showing a modified shampoo assembly in which the diameter of the brushes and sponges vary along the length of the assembly. The brushes and sponges can be interlocked for synchronized rotation to achieve a greater brushing action.

The shampooing members l1 are disposed in zig-zag formation within a channel 2 in a main housing 3 and comprise a series of cleaning members each consisting of alternately placed brushes '4 and resilient sponge discs '5, the brushes in the embodiment shown consisting of radiating tufts, relatively narrow width radiating from a boss 6, and being assembled so that there are perhaps four brushes on an axle 7 with spaces therebetween to take three sponge discs 5 having a diameter preferably slightly less than the brushes.

Two of such cleaning members can conveniently be mounted from a single axle support 8 clipped into the housing, the axles 7 from the axle support 8 projecting in opposite directions but at an angle to each other so that both of these cleaning members are disposed at an angle transverse to the line of travel of the unit. Thus when one of the members sweeps towards the left, the other sweeps towards the right, these cleaning member units being repeated along the sweeper so that a zig-zag series of cleaning members extend across the sweeper as shown, all being free to rotate on their shafts 7 and each being provided with the brush and sponge sections.

This free rotation is however not necessary as the assemblies can be locked together to rotate as one unit. This can be achieved by having interengaging bosses on the brushes and sponges, or friction at contiguous surfaces can be used to achieve this.

The lower parts of these cleaning members project below the base of the sweeper body and are disposed near the forward edge of same, but the rear of this body is provided with a pair of wheels 10 which maintain the body in spaced relationship from the ground in conjunction with the cleaning members 1 which form the forward supports.

By utilising a series of disc-like bosses 6 with radiating tufts of brushes thereon and assembling them on a shaft 7, an effective brush is provided which, when set at an angle to the direction of travel, has a brushing or sweeping action on the pile in a direction transverse to the travel of the unit, this action loosening the pile and presenting all parts of the surface of the pile for cleaning, the sponge members between these brushes 4 serving to hold the shampoo liquid and at the same time acting to clean the surface and hold the liquid to generate foam so that only a small amount, mainly foam, can reach the actual pile of the carpet to be spread evenly thereon.

It will be realised that because of the angular position of the axis 7 on which these members 1 rotate a sheering action results on the sponge discs 5 which has been found in conjunction with the brushes to have an ideal cleaning effect, the unit of course having adjacent cleaning members disposed at the opposite angle so that as it is moved over a carpet some parts of the carpet are being moved towards the right and some towards the left but as the unit is moved forward and backward over the carpet it will be realised that a continuously changing thrust direction on the carpet results with highly advantageous cleaning and shampooing effects.

The bag 14 which holds the shampoo liquid can conveniently be formed of plastic or other flexible material and is attached to a rigid support 15 which has a filler opening 16 and cap 17. The support 15 holds the rear of the bag 14 in place in the housing 3, the forward end of this bag having attached to it, in communication with the inside of the bag, a series of depending reservoirs 18 having discharge apertures 19, the reservoirs 18 being shaped so that they engage in apertures 20 in a part 21 of the housing immediately above the cleaning members.

During use, the reservoirs 18 receive liquid from the bag 14 over the weir 22 as the unit is moved forward and backward during the cleaning action, the bag, because of its relationship to the reservoirs I18, serving to effectively control the flow of liquid to the reservoirs, the reservoirs of course being generally higher than the highermost part of the bag itself as illustrated, this having the elfect that the reservoirs are periodically filled by flow of liquid due to the fore and aft cleaning movement of the unit when such unit is in use.

In this way the reservoirs contain only the required amount of shampoo liquid and do not overfeed the cleaning members 1, the feed thus being in proportion to the use of the device and requiring non shut-off member, although a shut-off device is provided to allow the device to be used without a feed of shampoo liquid taking place.

The apertures i19 in the reservoirs 18 are such that measured quantities of liquid from the reservoirs 18 can flow to the cleaning members 1, and these measuring apertures have conical surfaces adjacent the measuring edge so as to ensure minimum blockage of these apertures, the discharge end of the apertures being of larger diameterd than the intake ends.

Adjacent to the reservoirs 18 is a resilient bed 25 which co-operates with a blade 26 disposed on the opposite side of the bag, and extending the full length of the bag, and provided with a push button 27 so that this blade 26 can be forced down to press the bag onto the bed 25 to seal off any flow to the reservoirs, this then ensuring that the amount of liquid fed to the reservoirs can be adequately controlled because if the carpet is receiving too much shampoo it is only necessary to actuate the blade by swinging the handle 28 forwardly to cause the handle mount 29' of the handle to engage the push button 27 and thus bring the blade down into its cut-off position where it presses the two sides of the neck of the bag 14 together to prevent flow of the reservoirs 18. A spring 31 engaged in sockets 32 at each end rests on a lug 33 on the blade 26 and either holds the blade 26 in its raised or depressed position by passing over a centre position.

To release the blade 26 from depressed position a press member 35 is provided which has a flexible extension 36 terminating in a button 37 adjacent to the blade against which it pushes when the member 35 is depressed, the lockover spring 31 permitting movement of the 'blade 26 to clear it from the neck 22 of the bag '14.

The bag can readily be removed from the unit if such is desired by disengaging the reservoirs 18 from the apertures 20 in the housing but under normal circumstances this is not necessary and to fill the device it is only necessary to remove the filler cap 17 and to place shampoo into the bag 14 through the tiller opening 16 and then replace the filler cap 17.

The cover 40 of the unit carries the handle 28 through the mount 29 and arms 41 which engage clips 42 which allows the cover to clip onto the housing 3 of the unit so that by simply pressing on these clips the cover 40 can be removed to expose the bag and this then readily allows the bag to be removed if required. This cover assembly is shown particularly in FIG. 4.

The whole assembly is preferably such, and is so shown, that no bolts or screws are needed but each part simply clips on to the next, the cleaning members 1 being formed in pairs supported from axles 7 and axle supports 8, the axles with the cleaning members thereon being at the required angle so that these cleaning members 1 can readily be positioned by simply pushing the axle supports 8 into suitable holding sockets 45 in the housing, the free ends of the axles engaging in guides 46 in the housing 3 to give a rigid support to the axles 7, the cleaning members 1 as said being arranged to project across the front part of the unit but all having their axis alternating in relation to the direction of travel so that their cleaning or shampooing action is opposite for adjacent sections of cleaning members 1. A tongue 48 holds the member 8 in the socket 45.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 the brushes 50 and the sponges 5.1 taper in diameter from a larger size at the support 52 to a smaller size at the free end of the support shafts 53'.

The taper could, of course, be reversed, and it will be realised that as the shafts 53 are in a flattened V position, it is possible to get effective contact with the carpet by raising or lowering the support '52 at the apex of the V to ensure contact of the smaller as well as the larger brushes and sponges with the surface being cleaned 0r shampooed.

From the foregoing it will be realised that a very simple and effective unit is provided which has a series of angularly operating cleaning members each composed of brushes and liquid retaining means, such as sponges which are damped with a shampoo preferably from a. container in the nature of a flexible bag with or without means whereby the flow can be controlled, the whole unit preferably being formed in a simple manner by clipping together various sections but generally comprising a main housing into which the cleaning members can be clipped and in which the bag to hold the liquid can be placed, a cover clipping in position over this unit and provided with a handle and the necessary control means for the unit.

What -I claim is:

1. A liquid shampoo feed device for feeding liquid shampoo to the cleaning members of a shampoo apparatus, comprising a liquid shampoo container, a weir forming the outlet of the container and disposed at a higher level than the level of the liquid in the container, discharge nozzles below the weir for feeding the liquid shampoo to the cleaning members whereby the liquid is fed over the weir to the discharge nozzles by the inertia of the liquid causing surging of the liquid during the abrupt velocity changes due to the forward and backward motion of the cleaning apparatus during cleaning operations, and the container comprising a resilient bag joined to the weir by an upwardly extending neck.

2. A liquid shampoo feed device as defined in claim 1 characterised by blade means associated with the weir to cut off flow to the reservoirs when the blade means are pressed onto the neck of the bag to press the two sides thereof together.

3. .An apparatus for shampooing surfaces comprising a housing, a series of cleaning members rotationally carried by the housing, means to supply regulated quantities of shampoo liquid to said cleaning members, said means comprising a series of reservoirs disposed above the said cleaning members, nozzles on the reservoirs directed to discharge liquid from the reservoirs onto the cleaning members, and a resilient bag to contain the liquid disposed within the said housing and joined'to the reservoirs by a neck extending over a weir disposed at a higher level than the liquid level in the said bag whereby liquid flows to the reservoirs only by inertia due to movement of the apparatus.

4. Apparatus for shampooing surfaces according to claim 3 characterized by blade means associated with the weir to cut off flow to the reservoirs when the blade means are pressed on to the neck of the bag to press the two sides together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,641,011 6/ 1953 Caroni-a 401137 X 1,093,532 4/ 1914 Cavalier 401137 X LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.=R. 401-274 3 J 

